Vegetarian frijoles rojos con arroz

Vegetarian Frijoles Rojos con Arroz is a wonderful dish that I consider to be something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Hence the blue napkin in the photo above.

I have taken an old familiar recipe and I decided to add a bit of a small spin on it today. Combining the traditional idea of Red Beans and Rice with a modern fusion of wild rice and leaving the fatty pork behind.

The Puerto Rican cuisine was something I was blessed to learn back in the late 90’s when I was dating a guy born and raised in Yauco, Puerto Rico…The relationship didn’t last over 7 years. However, all the wonderful family recipes his mom shared with me have been going strong since 1998.

I love Puerto Rican Cuisine, what’s not to love about that delicious comfort food? I can think of only two things a few calories and a bit of fat. These days I spend a little more time being concerned about what I eat. So I decided to give my Frijoles Rojos con Arroz recipe a bit of a make-over.

What did I do?

Tossed the fatty pork idea out of the window- who needs meat all the time anyway? We have plenty of protein in those juicy beans we are about to make today.

Opted out of the traditional long-grain rice – I used Valencia rice and long grain wild black rice in a ratio of 60/40

Does it break all the Traditional Rules…of course it does. Rules are meant to be broken in my kitchen. If I followed all the rules I’d be a cookie cutter version of a Recipe Blogger… Where’s the fun in that?

Vegetarian Frijoles Rojos con Arroz is a wonderful dish that I consider to be something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Hence the blue napkin in the photo above. I have taken an old familiar recipe and I decided to add a bit of a small spin on it today. Combining the traditional idea of Red Beans and Rice with a modern fusion of wild rice and leaving the fatty pork behind.

Course:
Main Course

Cuisine:
Puerto Rican

Keyword:
Frijoles Rojos

Servings: 6

Author: hmccallum

Ingredients

1pounddried red beans sorted, soaked and rinsed

6cupsvegetable broth

1tablespoonolive oil

5minisweet peppers Aji dulce diced

1mediumonion diced

4clovesroasted garlic

1/4cupfinely chopped cilantro or Culantro

1/2cuptomato sauce, 4 ounces

8Spanish Green Olives

1tablespoondried oregano

1teaspoonground toasted coriander seeds

2Bay leaves

1envelopeSazon, Con Culantro y Achiote

Kosher salt, to own own taste

fresh ground pepper, to taste

1cupValencia rice

3/4cupwild long grain rice

Instructions

Place sorted, soaked and rinsed beans in a large pot that has a tight-fitting lid, with 6 cups of vegetable broth, turn the burner on medium heat, bring beans up to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer beans on low heat for about 60 minutes before adding kosher salt to beans.

Add vegetables and finely chopped cilantro to the pot of beans at this time along with 4 ounces of tomato sauce and 8 Spanish green olives. Season with oregano, ground toasted coriander seeds, 2 bay leaves, Season, Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Simmer beans on very low for about 1 hour or until completely tender and delicious.

How to cook the blended rice:

Add 2 and 1/2 cups of water to a pan with a pinch of kosher salt and a small amount of olive oil, bring to a full boil before adding all rice, let boil for 1-2 minutes before covering with a tight-fitting lid and reducing heat to very low. The rice should completely do cooking within 15-17 minutes. Remove lid and fork fluff after about 3-5 minutes.

Great recipe Heidy! Your red beans and rice look delicious! I could eat food like this everyday. I am looking forward to see what you share with #purebloglove on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee